What
W Los Angeles-Westwood
Where
Situated in Westwood Village, this W is in a rather quiet residential area. It is quite a hike to get to the heart of the action in WeHo or Beverly Hills, or 45 mins to Santa Monica and Venice in the East. However the W now offers a free one way limo transfer on an Acura - a nifty joint marketing effort between the W and Acura. Unfortunately I didn't find out about this until the last day or 2 of my stay - have to pay more attention at check in next time.
WoW
The staff of this W are truly gems, and is probably the reason that makes this property worth coming back to.
Priscila the concierge remembered me from my last stay even though that was nearly 18 months ago, though I didn't get to put her skills and resources to the test this time as I was well looked after by friends in LA.
On the 2nd morning of my stay, Jenna from the Welcome Desk sent up a nice card welcoming me to LA, and a complimentary drinks card as they'd "heard" that I liked mojitos. Redeemed it for a ginger mojito at Whiskey Blue - tasty!
The Welcome Desk, Jenna in particular was also pretty good with recomendations and reservations if the concierge wasn't around, as the concierge seems to sign off at 6pm on Sundays. SPG upgrade readily honoured - I got a Fabulous Suite which had a study (which comes with a fold out bed for party guests to crash) in addition to living room and bedroom.
Fabulous Suite - the morning after
The Whatever/Whenever service was prompt and efficient. Phone calls answered promptly, and requests fulfilled without much fuss - ranging from helping to break my lock apart (as it'd gone wonky and refused to open after my last flight) to simple things like champagne glasses. Though they were probably a bit overzealous when they sent security to my room to check if I was still alive and well when I forgot to cancel my wake up call (and was in the shower while they rang up). Still, the concern was appreciated lol.
Hotel had a lively crowd - LA has a v unfortunate 2am closing time, but simply stick around the Living Room and you'd soon be invited to a party or 3 up in one of the suites!
Woe
As previously stated, I don't think this W has done the best job with its refurb. The decor felt rather incomplete (plain ceilings for instance), and mellow - as if they're trying to appeal to everyone. The hallways were too bright which made them feel rather harsh and unwelcoming - it's like in a club when they turn on the lights and play Semisonic to kick you out during closing time. On the whole, I felt that the decor lacked that special 'zing', quirkiness and in-your-face quality that makes Ws W. They probably should've realised that Thom Felicia can't even dress a person properly, let alone design a hotel.
I attended a party at Whiskey and felt it totally overrated. They were totally short staffed, and so the bartenders were all stressed out - refusing to make the more complicated drinks. The acoustics were bad, DJing rather predictable and oh-so-2007. Plus a rather underdressed crowd - felt like a UCLA frat party on the whole.
Also a trivial point - but they could be a bit more creative about the music played in the hotel. It seemed like they played Wonderlust in the lifts over and over again.
so... on the Whole...
The truly amazing staff continue to fly the flag, but this W is let down by a generally uninspired decor and mundane ambience. But with the edgy SLS property and the new W Hollywood coming up - there's no shortage of new things to try in LA!